Alpine Destiny 1
by OwlflightTheWarriorKitten
Summary: Thrushkit wakes up to a nasty surprise
1. The Alpine Destiny

**T** hrushkit woke up to moaning. His vision foggy, he mumbled, "Whaa's goin' on?"

Snowkit muttered in the same tone of voice, "I think the Clan is gathering…"

Thrushkit sleepily smiled and meowed, "Good, I can get some more sleep. Who was moaning?"

Snowkit was already out.

Thrushkit sat drowsily in his nest for a moment, entirely disinterested in waking up. He snuggled into the warm feathers and other soft objects that made up his nest, occasionally licking his paw.

But he couldn't sleep. The longer he sat curled up in that perfect spot, the more it seemed something was very _wrong_.

"So much for going back to sleep," he mewed, opening his eyes and getting up.

The ShadowClan nursery was a warm room, with nary an opening besides a smallish hole for the cats to come in and out of. Even through the chilling leaf-bare, the kits and queens were warm.

Several kits lived in the nursery. As Thrushkit noticed immediately, only three were there today; Snowkit, Wrenkit, and himself.

Thrushkit knew to wonder where his two sisters, Lakekit and Shiverkit were. He also noted their mother, Beewing, was gone, although she may just be out on her own, eating a morning meal with another cat, or maybe sharing tongues.

Thrushkit wandered over to the door, a blast of ice-cold air chilling him instantly as he stepped out into the snow-covered camp. He stumbled because he couldn't see where his paws were, landing face first in the snow.

Not many cats were out. He imagined that hunting wouldn't be a big deal today and nobody would have the energy to share tongues. Everyone was on hibernate mode today, and they had good reason. It was _cold!_

He heard scuffling in the medicine cat den, and, hoping to find his mother, he slowly stumbled his way over.

He made his way in, hearing coughing. Emerald, the medicine cat, who was formerly a rogue, noticed immediately.

"Hello Thrushkit, please don't come in. Amberheart has greencough. Why are you here?" Emerald asked pleasantly to the little kit.

"Beewing and my sisters a-aren't in the n-nursery so I thought I'd f-find them here when I heard noise in here…" stammered Thrushkit.

"I'll go find them. In the meantime, please go back to the nursery. Your mother won't be happy if you freeze to death," she instructed.

"Okay, Emerald." meowed Thrushkit.

Thrushkit and the other kits waited patiently for Beewing to come back to the nursery, making up stories to pass the time.

"Oh, I bet that she brought your sisters to play in the snow, and you weren't up so she didn't bring you, and she's just not back yet," a cheerful Wrenkit mewed.

"I bet she ATE your sisters!" chided a playful Snowkit.

"Why do you have to be so mean to Thrushkit?" scolded Wrenkit.

"Snowkit, stop treating me like I'm tiny, Wrenkit, stop treating me like I'm a poor thing! I'm only four days younger than you, and we'll probably have all our ceremonies on the same days!" meowed an annoyed Thrushkit.

Wrenkit stuck her nose up and mewed profoundly, "Well _I_ want to be a medicine cat, and I practice on you."

"Why not my sisters?" Thrushkit asked curiously.

"They're really good friends."

"Oh, because they're _she-cats_." meowed Snowkit.

"I prefer she-cats. They aren't as boisterous and crazy and impulsive." Thrushkit replied.

Snowkit rolled his eyes, mewing, " _THANKS, FRIEND! I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU TO BE ON MY SIDE!_ "

(-)

Thrushkit fell asleep that night to a weird dream. Nothing talked at all. In fact the only noise was an ominous howl.

He gazed around at the trees, wondering how they were so big.

He took a breath of the cold air, curious as to the greyish-green of the grass and the reddish wood in the trees.

It was twilight, and the air was crisp and windy. He went the direction of the wind. Not knowing why. As he looked forward, then looked up, a beautiful creature of a sleek gray, not quite a dog, cat or fox, but somewhere in between, and it whispered.

 _Follow the path of the wind. The ones who you need to know are there. Bring the stars away from the alpine destiny._

(-)

Thrushkit was startled awake. The warm, familiar air of the nursery surrounded him, and he snuggled close to Lakekit.

He went straight through her.

His eyes shot opened, and for a second he panicked, until he remembered his sisters were gone. It had been five days since they dissapeared, and Thrushkit was pretty sure that they were dead.

Wrenkit immediately mewed when he got up, "Go to the medicine den. You won't regret it."

Thrushkit exited the nursery, hopeful for the fifth day in a row, Wrenkit following him close behind.

He entered the medicine den, surprised to see that Shiverkit was there, and she was obviously sick.

"Shiverkit, what happened!?" meowed an alarmed Thrushkit, immediately bursting in to share tongues.

"Oh StarClan I missed you," he added.

"And you are…" meowed a confused Shiverkit.

"Please be just teasing me," prayed Thrushkit.

"You are probably the seventeenth cat to say that all day. Once again, who are you?" Shiverkit meowed believably.

"Thrushkit, your brother and best friend…" mewed Thrushkit, desperate for a connection.

"I know. I've been teasing. I wasn't lying when I mewed you were the seventeenth cat to say that though. It's been my ongoing joke of the day."

"Har har. Seriously, you gave me CHILLS when you meowed you didn't remember."

"Proves you're just as gullible as before."

"Where's Lakekit and Beewing?"

"I don't know. We went into the woods and I got separated after two days. Barely survived getting back, but luckily I didn't starve. I came back to camp. I'm lucky I remembered where it was. It was so cold!"

"Looks like you have Whitecough."

"Yeah, though Emerald says it's nearly gone and very curable. Just waiting for the catmint to kick in!"

"It'll be good to have you back! Guess what Wrenkit told me!? She mewed that she wanted to be a medicine cat!"

"Well I believe in her. She's a good cat."

"To you! She treats me like I was born five days ago, and yet our apprentice ceremonies will be shared! And we're both five moons old anyways!"

Then, Emerald came in, with Robinstar close behind, asking, "Okay, Shiverkit, you are well enough to tell us what you thought happened. So what happened?"

"So I woke up late a few nights ago, my mother urging me and Lakekit to get out quick. I moaned, hoping to wake up Thrushkit, but he and Snowkit had a brief eye-closed half asleep conversation then they both fell asleep again. We tried to wake up Thrushkit again but it was no use. Then Beewing told us there was no time, we had to RUN! She mentioned some sort of Alpine Destiny thing. We panicked and spent more time getting out than on conversation, and we kind of fell asleep while walking. Next thing I remember I was asking Beewing questions, but she nervously looked around and mewed 'not now.' I lost them that night when I DID fall asleep and they didn't realise."

"Did you say alpine destiny!?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, er, I had a dream where this weird creature told us to embrace the alpine destiny or something. I thought I had just made it up in my head, but I've had it every night since you three vanished- and it's scaring me."

"When we left Mom meowed it would be more likely to destroy one of us than you and you would most likely be safe here. Whatever she meowed-"

"Is probably twisted, weird, StarClan connected, and all-in-all, just, scary. I think you should probably start training a few days early to defend yourselves," Robinstar mewed worriedly.

"You mean, now!?" both kits exclaimed.

"Er, no, because that'd mean breaking StarClan's rule too much. But say, on Wrenkit and Snowkit's six-moon day instead of yours." Robinstar mewed, curling up a little.

"So, in six days!" The kits mewed in unison.

"But that's the day that I go to the moonstone…" Emerald meowed nervously.

"A small Clan knows how to make due. And four new apprentices-"

"Will mean having seven apprentices. And we aren't even a small Clan!"

"That's not what I meant…"

"It's true that at that point 1/7 of our cats WILL be apprentices then. That's crazy!"

(-)

The four kits eagerly pranced around camp, ticking off all of the warriors.

"STOP BOUNCING ON US!" Willowwing cried.

"Sorry, but we're going to be warriors tonight! We'll be more special!" cried Snowkit, the rowdy one of the bunch.

"You're ready to be Warriors already!?" the startled warrior asked.

"Apparently so," meowed his mate Hollystep.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the hightree." called Robinstar across the camp.

Everyone walked to the center of the Clan, excited to know what was happening. Not often was a Clan meeting called when the medicine cat was gone.

"Today we gather to bring forth a symbol of new life in the Clan. Gather forth as we name thee apprentices."

(-)

"Shiverkit, will you come up?" Shiverkit heard. She went first. Exciting!

"Yes…" she mewed, trailing off because she felt there was more to be mewed.

"You demonstrated courage when you left the Clan on your mother's orders. Your mentor will be Timberwing." _How was that courage? We were running in fear!_

Timberwing came to the center of the Clan gathering, and touched noses with Shiverkit.

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code for the sake of the Clan?" mewed the Clan leader.

"Yes." Shiverkit mewed, forgetting her qualms.

"Then by the power of StarClan, I name you Shiverpaw."

(-)

"Snowkit, will you come up?"

The leader called. Snowkit was freaking out. Now people could see him! He was also nervous. _Did I remember to clean my fur?_

He kept walking toward the leader.

"Yes." Snowkit called, excitement pulsing through his heart.

"You showed friendship when you comforted Thrushkit when his sisters went missing. You're mentor is Squirreljump," Robinstar versed.

Squirreljump walked up to Snowkit, and they touched noses.

 _Boop!_

Snowkit jumped two fox-lengths in the air at the slightest touch. That's how nervous he was!

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect the Clan?" asked Robinstar blankly.

"Yes."

"Then I give you your apprentice name, Snowpaw."

(-)

Wrenkit nervously sat through the other ceremonies. She wondered if being last meant she was going to be a medicine cat apprentice.

Thrushpaw's ceremony ended, with Thrushpaw coming over raving about how his mentor was Shiningheart, the do gooder from the depths of the dark forest. He complained something was off about her, but Wrenkit wasn't paying attention.

It was her turn now.

She was a bit freaked out she would be made a warrior. She couldn't remember if she'd asked Robinstar if she could be a medicine cat apprentice. She probably had not.

"Wrenkit, will you come up?"

"Yeah…"

Robinstar was showing the slightest amount of interest, so maybe that was a good sign. She didn't know, so she freaked out!

"Your mentor is… Emerald!"

She sighed with relief then didn't care to pay attention to the rest of the ceremony. She was so happy! And she was also happy that she didn't have to sit vigil. HA HA!

(-)

The other apprentices sat gloomily outside, talking quietly about their mentors.

"Squirreljump is like a full-size kit!"

"Well she is a good hunter."

"And fighter!"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well I think I'm lucky that I got Timberwing."

"Shiningheart's going to make me be the absolute do-gooder I don't deserve to be.".

Robinstar walked up to the apprentices and meowed "You guys be quiet. It's silent vigil."

"No," they meowed grinning at their leader slyly.

"We'll delay your-"

The new apprentices shut up.

"Ah, good," Robinstar meowed walking away.

"Jerk." Thrushpaw whispered. _I hate being quiet._

"Shh." muttered Shiverpaw.

Then, they waited the night.

"Wrenpaw is SO lucky." Snowpaw muttered, "she gets to stay inside!"

(-)

As the nights progressed, the apprentices learned to hunt. They kept doing their job.

Wrenpaw was stressed out by all of the herbs she had to learn. Whilst Emerald was a good medicine cat, Wrenpaw didn't think she was a good teacher. She was strict, not very funny, serious, and went too harsh on a new apprentice. But Wrenpaw loved the herbs anyway. She would survive and adapt.

Snowpaw loved being an apprentice. He was quick to master hunting, and was a good fighter. He was concentrating too hard, though. He wasn't talking to other apprentices or looking at any she-cats, or much of anything. His mind went only to fighting and the other apprentices felt they'd lost a good friend.

Shiverpaw wasn't very good at anything. The prey kept slipping and she was getting mad. But she was improving and would do fine if she didn't go psycho.

And lastly, Thrushpaw. He was ok as an apprentice, but he still felt as though Wrenpaw babied him, and was getting fed up with not really having any good friends besides his sister, and was also being picked on by the three older apprentices (Mousepaw, Jaypaw and Redpaw) and absolutely hated them.

But the one thing that stayed the same with the foursome was that they all missed Lakekit and Beewing. When Wrenpaw and Snowpaw's mother Tanglefoot died, Beewing was mother to all five kits. Now that she was gone, and also Lakekit, they felt incomplete. It was as if there was a shortage in friends.

 _I hate to be one to have favorites,_ thought Thrushpaw, _but now that I can't have my sister, she's my favorite. We would be the two who led the rat pack, because when Lakekit was around, nobody thought I was the small one. We were leader and deputy. Shiverkit would always play the villain, Snowkit the brave warrior, and Wrenkit the medicine cat. Those days are gone now. And I miss her so bad!_

Shiverpaw and Thrushpaw were absentmindedly working on small talk skills, saying things like,

"How's hunting?"

"Good."

"What's your name?"

"Yes."

Emphasis on absentmindedly. The new apprentices needed something to liven up their days. And it was soon to come.

(-)

 _Lakekit was running through the snow. The further she ran the colder she became._

 _She realised it was chasing her._

 _Sprinting toward the alpines, she heard the howling and prepared to get torn up just like her mother. She closed her eyes and stopped._

 _It reached her._

 _In her cold darkness, she expected the entire world to come skidding to a stop. As fast as she ran, nothing would help. It was over._

 _But when she expected it the most, nothing came._

 _The kit sat eyes closed in an icy wasteland, shivering as she neared closer and closer to death…._


	2. Gathering Thoughts

**E** veryone was sleeping, and several stirred.

Four were in the same dream.

One was being watched.

The StarClan cats stood together to deliver a prophecy, one to which every cat must listen.

"What's going on?" called Lakekit.

"Lakekit!?" called Thrushpaw.

"I must be dreaming!" Lakekit muttered.

"That's what I was thinking!" Shiverpaw.

Wrenpaw looked warily around. "If it was a dream, Snowpaw would be here. And we'd all be doing some kit thing. Or at least in my case. It might be a dream- we're all having."

"Prophetic?" one asked.

"A figment of my imagination, I would think!" meowed Shiverpaw.

Wrenpaw mewed, "Err, you three, look up!"

A dark gray tom emerged from the clouds, it's green eyes eerie in their blank dream.

"The attack has begun. Wake up or DIE."

But the foursome couldn't wake up. They didn't want to, because it was great to even SEE each other, but also, they couldn't.

"GO!" screamed the gray cat.

"We can't!" mewed Shiverpaw.

Then, Shiverpaw disappeared in front of them.

"WHERE IS SHE!?" cried Thrushpaw.

"You don't need to know, but she didn't just wake up on her own. Something evil is approaching."

"But we're right next to each other!" Thrushpaw called incredulously.

"The ambush is happening NOW! StarClan is under assault. Wake them all up! The world is ending!" cried the dark gray tom in front of them."

"StarClan is what-" called Lakekit.

Then she disappeared.

Wrenpaw was freaking out. Whether or not this dream was real, it was for sure a sign from StarClan. _Everyone's going to disappear._

And then, it hit her.

"What do you know about the alpine destiny!?" she yelled as loud as she could.

Thrushpaw disappeared.

"The alpine destiny haunts you. It is the bane of your existense, the wrath of the future. You may try to run away, but one reason or another, you will go."

Shiverpaw woke up in panic. The apprentices den was being invaded, she quickly realised. _Who's in here?_ She thought.

She was pretty sure she could recognise the smell. _WindClan._

She lowered the sound of her breathing to that of a sleeping cat. _When they exit, I'll be safe._

She stayed where she was, feeling as if days were passing. She got hungry. Soon she wondered what the dream was about. It had ended quickly for her, but maybe the others got more of it.

As the time passed, she soon realised that the cats in here were probably not going to leave until we made them.

Quietly, she whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Yes." whispered Thrushpaw and Wrenpaw.

"What happened?"

"I asked about the alpine destiny, but that can wait. But right now, he says an evil is haunting us."

"Apparently so. WindClan is in here."  
"I didn't think WindClan attacked unprovoked. They are actually a kind of weak Clan. So this is not normal."

"Maybe they're under the influence of the dark forest."

"But that would be weird, because there haven't been any tyrants who would GO to the dark forest since the last attack thirteen years ago, and we killed all of them at that point."

"Guys, shh. One just pricked their ears up."

Shiverpaw waited in the eerie darkness. She laid down, eyes closed.

"Hello…"called the WindClan warrior.

"Who are you! Why are you here!?" cried Snowpaw, waking up and instantly going on attack mode.

"Snowpaw don't there's too man-" Wrenpaw called, then realised she was speaking loudly.

Now Wrenpaw went into attack mode. A yowl burst through the den, and chaos erupted.

Shiverpaw leaped out of her nest and begun to fight.

Thrushpaw freaked out. Now he was thrust into the battle. He had briefly contemplated just pretending to stay asleep, but quickly decided against it.

He opened his eyes and ran straight into the chaos, and immediately dived in to protect Wrenpaw, who was cowering in the corner, realising she had no idea how to fight. Thrushpaw slashed a WindClan cat's face and raced toward her, pouncing on a cat approaching his near sister. Despite the dire situation, he couldn't help but think _Well, you aren't going to baby me now are you Wrenpaw?_

Then, right out of the blue, Jaypaw yelled, "HEY! THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, YOU FOUR! GO BACK TO BED IN THE KIT DEN WHERE YOU BELONG, WITH YOUR MOTHER AND CRY! GO AWAY! THIS DOES NOT CONCERN YOU!

The battle stopped, everyone nervously looking around.

Jaypaw muttered, "And you four are not going to say a word about our involvement."

Then, Robinstar and a whole lot of warriors ran into the apprentices den, yelling, "WindClan invasion. ShadowClan, attack!"

"Apprentices, outside, this is no fight for you!" called Emerald from somewhere off to the side.

Happily obliging, Thrushpaw ran outside into the camp's darkness, happy to see all of his friends out safely.

"What happened?" Emerald asked from behind them.

"I had a weird dream… and then I woke up to WindClan attacking," meowed a startled Wrenpaw.

"Same!" mewed Thrushpaw.

"Exactly!" Shiverpaw meowed.

"I don't know. I woke up to my sister in trouble and immediately saved her. WindClan was no match for me! Although, didn't have any dreams," Snowpaw meowed loudly and courteously.

"LIAR!" Thrushpaw called out, glowering at Snowpaw. He'd woken up and ruined everything. And he didn't do any good fighting.

"Actually, you're the liar." Thrushpaw and his comrades turned around to the three older apprentices standing alertly.

"We woke up to WindClan here. Wrenpaw had the idiocy to yell aloud, and then we were thrust into battle. Luckily for them, we saved the younger apprentices, besides Snowpaw, who did a good job himself." mewed Redpaw.

"Alright, well, they are younger and still learning." Emerald mewed.

"You believe THEM!?" mewed Shiverpaw incredulously.

"You're barely apprentices and we've had them lie to feel less ashamed before. But don't worry, it wasn't your fault."

"Plus, they told the truth,"meowed Snowpaw.

"Yes" meowed Emerald "but you must come with me you need to tell me about this dream"

"You believe about this dream? Especially when three of us had it?"

"It's a dream. So yeah, it's pretty important by my watch."

"Well it's… a long story."

"So you had a dream about a gray cat telling you that you were being haunted by a future?" Emerald summarized.

"Uh- huh." Shiverpaw meowed.

"That's StarClan for you. Whatever happens to dead cats no-nonsense policies?"

"They got eaten by the monster called death."

"Well, either way, this is over now, and we certainly have something to say at the gathering tonight." Robinstar concluded.

"Wait, you mean we can come!?" meowed Thrushpaw happily.

"Okay. But only if you be on BEST BEHAVIOR."

Wrenpaw sulked around the rest of the day, very much hurt. Her brother was gone, she reflected, but now he was cool by the older apprentices standards? What happened to the fun loving kit she had grown up with?

She tried to be as excited as the other apprentices about the gathering, but she couldn't. She imagined they were also probably wearing masks. No cat could be happy about their brother turning into claws and thoughts, but no sound.

She was so off-put, in fact, that she felt sick.

"Just a tummyache."

"Try some cobwebs." Emerald responded distractedly, which for a second confused Wrenpaw because Emerald had meowed the wrong thing. Cobweb wasn't even an herb.

"I KNOW! But I don't want any. It's… emotional."

"Yes."

"I DIDN'T EVEN ASK A QUESTION!" screamed Wrenpaw.

"Uh- huh."

Wrenpaw rolled her eyes. Emerald was lost in the world of HERBS. Wrenpaw hoped she wouldn't be like that in the future.

The day ended and the Clan began to assemble to leave for the gathering, Wrenpaw finally got excited. Her first gathering, and she was barely old enough to be an apprentice!

"You two, come over here!" called Thrushpaw.

Wrenpaw and Shiverpaw walked over, both of them cheery, and both noticing that Thrushpaw had mewed two.

"You excited!? I am! We're going to confront WindClan."

"Will the other Clans believe us? Or even care!? I mean, nowadays, it seems everyone hates ShadowClan!" Shiverpaw asked alarmedly.

"Maybe not, but it doesn't hurt to try!" he mewed.

Wrenpaw doubtfully looked at the dirt beneath her paws. "Yeah. Sure." she heard herself say uninterestedly.

"Wrenpaw, are you okay?" Shiverpaw asked, concerned.

"I'm just sad. I miss the old Snowpaw. Now he's just… a jerk. And the fact that he sided with the older apprentices… that in itself was creepy."

"Well- at least he's working hard for the good of the Clan."

"But so are we!" yowled Wrenpaw.

"Good point…" whispered Shiverpaw.

"Well, we won't know. But in the meantime, I want to know what the older apprentices, specifically Jaypaw, are up to. Because… them siding with Snowpaw- now that is bizarre." Thrushpaw meowed decisively, "Yet anyway- do you guys want to DO something? Now that we have a day off- we're kind of just here."

"We could discuss the dream-" Wrenpaw begun.

"Weird that we all had it, huh?" Thrushpaw excitedly interrupted.

"I stayed in the longest- and I asked about the alpine destiny. What he meowed was chilling. And I don't really understand it."

"None of us do. But hey- we saw Lakekit!"

"If she's still alive, she probably assumes that it was just a nightmare or something." Wrenpaw mewed doubtfully.

"Well- I think it's more. StarClan being cryptic again."

"I don't know what I think-"

Wrenpaw stopped listening. She knew from experience the siblings would begin to bicker now. So- she was lost in thought again. _You know- I should go and at least_ try _to talk to my brother._

 _Yeah. If I don't do anything, nothing is going to happen._ And so she took a deep breath and mewed, "Bye, guys."

Then, she padded over to the clearing where Snowpaw was talking to some of the warriors about hunting strategy.

"You know, I think voles are actually easier to catch if you chase them instead of stalk them. They're really slow!"

"I haven't found a slow one in my whole life!"

She held her head up high and meowed, "Snowpaw. What is going on with you!"

Snowpaw looked at her confusedly.

"You never talk to me and Thrushpaw and Shiverpaw! You aren't really friends with anyone! Name the last time we did something fun as a foursome."

"Er- we all battled together in the apprentices den."

"YOU CALL THAT FUN?!" shrieked Wrenpaw, steam billowing from her ears. "OUR LIVES WERE IN DANGER! DO YOU EVEN CARE WHO LED THOSE CATS TO HERE, OR DO YOU JUST WANT TO BE KNOWN AS A GOOD WARRIOR!? I'M TIRED OF THIS!"

By now cats were gathering around the clearing in the center of the camp, wondering who Wrenpaw was shouting at.

"When we were in the battle in the apprentices den, all I wanted was to protect you. You are smaller than me, and you're not even training for battle. And that's what I did. And those two- well, they weren't being very helpful." Snowpaw mewed calmly.

"I'd rather you be a friend than you help me! It would be worth more."

And Wrenpaw stormed off.

"We have to go to the gathering, Wrenpaw!" Shiverpaw yowled.

"Tell the warriors that I am NOT COMING." Wrenpaw mewed gravely.

"But you're our friends!" Thrushpaw yelled from beside Shiverpaw.

Something about this triggered Wrenpaw, and she walked outside.

"I'll go."

Shiverpaw felt her heart skip a beat. Even though Wrenpaw was depressed, she was still happy she would come.

"I'll be your brother now." Thrushpaw mewed. _Oh, that's a pretty witty one! I should have meowed that!_ Shiverpaw thought, her mind racing with random thoughts.

"Thanks, you two." Wrenpaw mewed slowly.

"Okay, let's go!" Shiverpaw mewed, then mewled with laughter.

Thrushpaw and (hesitantly) Wrenpaw both also laughed.

At the gathering, the apprentices of all Clans assembled.

"Hey, Pikepaw, look! There's ShadowClan apprentices here!" A WindClan apprentice mewed.

"Jaypaw! Been a long time!" shouted Pikepaw, a RiverClan apprentice.

 _Okay, yep, I'm listening to THAT conversation for sure_ thought Shiverpaw.

"Sorrelpaw, come over here!" shouted Jaypaw.

"This is not good." muttered Thrushpaw under his breath.

"Why are four apprentices from different Clans acting like best friends?" Wrenpaw muttered back.

"Shh." Shiverpaw shushed.

"So- our meeting place after this-" Jaypaw mewed, then whispered something, "Keep it secret."

Then, the four dispersed as if nothing had happened.

"So we know the names-"

"Of most of them, but not the WindClan one."

"This is like a real investigation!"

Then, the gathering begun for real. "Let all cats assemble for the gathering," mewed the WindClan leader, Snowstar.

He began his report. "WindClan is fine. We have two new apprentices, Stonepaw and Fernpaw. We also have a new warrior; Robinfeather. We do have something to say, our Clan has been attacked by RiverClan."  
The uproar began. "WE WERE TOLD BY STARCLAN IT WAS THE ONLY THING TO DO! IT WAS AN OMEN!" screamed Berrywing of RiverClan.

"WELL YOU ATTACKED US!" screeched Lizardtail of ShadowClan to the WindClan leader.

"It was our only course of action," meowed Snowstar, trying to keep his cool.

Shiverpaw looked over at ThunderClan, who were standing idly, confused.

Thrushpaw was filled with excitement. There was a mystery to solve here, and he knew it. The four apprentices, the Clans attacking each other-

-It seemed kind of weird.

For the rest of the gathering, he kept his eye on Jaypaw. When it ended, he whispered to the other two apprentices, "Follow me."

"Okay," mewed Wrenpaw.

They sneaked after Jaypaw, wondering what would happen. As they journeyed through the forest, they finally came across a clearing.

The four apprentices were there.

"We've got WindClan to turn against ShadowClan, and RiverClan against WindClan. Sorrelpaw and Jaypaw, you need to start working!" said an unrecognizable voice.

"On it!" Sorrelpaw mewed, "ThunderClan plans to attack RiverClan tomorrow!" she added cheerily.

"I can't get my leader to listen to me! He's always worrying about the prophecy!"

"That Alpine Destiny thing is just a bunch of mouse-dung!" Sorrelpaw said supportively.

"He doesn't think so!" Jaypaw retorted, her voice filled with poison.

Shiverpaw breathed in heavily, alerting the cats of our existence.

"KILL THEM!" cried the unnamed voice.

Jaypaw, Sorrelpaw, Pikepaw, and the WindClan one raced toward the that bushes they were hiding in so fast that the three apprentices couldn't escape. They were surrounded.

"I thought I told you three to stay out of the way!" Jaypaw hollered.

And then claws slashed into his throat and there was darkness.

Shiverpaw, seeing her brother fall down, attacked the older apprentices, hoping to possibly send them away.

She was determined to win. Wrenpaw also tried to help fight, but she only knew basic defense, as she was a medicine cat.

But it was no use, and the apprentices kept attacking. Thrushpaw hazily woke up.

"RUN!" called Wrenpaw.

The three retreated.

 _Lakekit woke up from the strange dream knowing something was wrong. She found the courage to pad forward, toward the calm and compassionate voice._

' _Why are you here, little kit?'_

' _I don't know!'_

 _Lakekit looked up at the source of the voice._

 _A majestic bird with flaming wings and eyes of sapphire warbled a singsongy lullaby 'If you are still waiting, you will be found, nothing dies forever now, but for the meantime don't go slow, catch me if you can!'_

 _This was not the same voice as earlier. This was playful, and reminded her a lot of Thrushkit, wherever he was._

 _Slowly she caught glimpses of the firebird, it's flaming wind melting the snow. 'Haha! You're going to love it here!'_

 _She ran forward after the firebird, as it led her to an ice covered lake._

' _Or at least, until the demons come!'_

 _The ice cracked and Lakekit fell in. She plunged far into the icy water, her heart beating extremely fast._

 _But then, another bird swooped in and pulled her out._

' _It's dangerous for kittens here!' a voice above her said, 'Even the most friendly looking things might be trying to eat you. You'll need to learn that.'_

 _The firebird chased after them, 'stop it! You're taking my food! The last meal before the winter!' it said, barreling into them._

 _The bird above her nearly dropped the girl as it spiraled toward the firebird, whom Lakekit discovered wasn't fire after all as it barged into her, pummelled into the bird and suddenly, she was falling through thin air._


	3. This Means War

**N** ot much later, Jaypaw still hadn't gotten back. As a surprise, Robinstar announced Jaypaw and her brother and sister would get their Warrior names today, and yet, Jaypaw never showed up.

Suddenly, Wrenpaw and Snowpaw barged into the camp, a nearly dead Thrushpaw on their backs.

Stopping, Wrenpaw gasped, "We just saw something terrible. Don't go after! Help Thrushpaw!" She fainted, under way too much stress.

Snowpaw, who was a bit calmer, told the story to Robinstar, who said he may or may not believe it. She didn't have much evidence with her other than Thrushpaw, and Wrenpaw panicking so much, but for all they knew they could be trying to get the other apprentices in trouble, and maybe just had an encounter with a fox. Nevertheless, they weren't punished.

Jaypaw arrived later that night and the ceremony commenced.

"LET ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO CATCH THEIR OWN PREY GATHER FOR A CLAN MEETING!"

"Mousepaw!" cried Robinstar, "You have been trained well by your mentor Specklepelt. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and step forward as a warrior of ShadowClan?"

"I do!" she whispered, obviously a bit afraid of being in front of the other cats (she was the most bearable of the three siblings.)

"Then by the power of StarClan, you are now a warrior. You're new name is… Mousepelt!"

She walked away with a groove in her step.

"Next, Jaypaw. You are a determined and excellent fighter. We shall thank Strongfern for mentoring you. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and step forward as a warrior of ShadowClan?"

"I do," she said without any emotion.

"Then by StarClan, your new name shall be Jaystorm."

"Ok," she said, wandering off, obviously not fond of her new name.

"And lastly, we have- uh, I have forgotten your name."

"Redpaw!" Redpaw said happily.

Jaystorm snickered.

This caused some contagious giggling.

"Redpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and step forward as a warrior of ShadowClan?" asked Robinstar, clearly tired.

"I DO!" Redpaw mewed blissfully.

"Then your name shall be- Redclaw!"

"YAY!" Redclaw mewed. This was pretty uncharacteristic. Usually he was about the same as Jaystorm, but right now, he was just happy to prove his worth and be a warrior.

They settled down for the night, happy to be in the warriors den at long last. Meanwhile, Shiverpaw, Snowpaw and Wrenpaw were alone in the apprentice's den. It was kind of spooky to be there without the three older apprentices and Thrushpaw.

Shiverpaw lay there, almost asleep, when she felt a sharp pain in her back. Jaystorm was in the apprentice's den. "NO!" yelled Snowpaw.

"YOU AREN'T GOING TO TELL ANYONE MY SECRET, UNDERSTAND, FURBALL?" Jaystorm shrieked.

Snowpaw darted up, his mouth agape. He quietly maneuvered his way out of the den, desperate to grab either Emerald or Robinstar and catch whoever the attacker was. Jaystorm noticed and darted away, leaving no proof she had been there. After all, just the night before, she had slept there, which would explain the fur on the ground and her scent.

They begrudgingly fell asleep, knowing Jaystorm wouldn't try to attack them again because of the mighty consequences.

About a half-moon later, Wrenpaw was taken to her second ever moonstone meeting. She happily walked through the cave, knowing she would get some sleep for once (inexplicably, these past few days, the three apprentices all had sleeping problems. For Thrushpaw it was a big problem because he needed to heal. His mentor was a bit angry about this) and that she'd see StarClan cats, which was amazing.

In the dream, with just her and Emerald and none of the other Clan cats, Beewing unexpectedly greeted them. She whispered a prophecy into Wrenpaw's ear (which annoyed Emerald.)

 _A journey to the alpine trees_

 _A young old friend won't be easy to please_

 _A dark path will be walked by a single wanderer_

 _A path that may destroy the remainder_

 _Three shall go on this mighty quest_

 _One shall stay and save the rest_

 _The three_

 _shall be_

 _One loyal_

 _One noble_

 _And one more_

 _logical_

Beewing backed away from Wrenpaw, who was gasping in fear. " _A dark path will be walked by a single wanderer"_ she wondered, already guessing who it may be.

She told the prophecy to Emerald, who gasped, obviously having heard it before. "Oh no…" she muttered, "I think I know who this is about."

"Who?"  
"Well it all lines up. Them telling you, there being four 'wanderers,' and current events in general. Your friend's sister being gone. All that sort of stuff."

"Yeah?"

"It's about you, Wrenpaw. It's about you, Snowpaw, Shiverpaw, Thrushpaw, and Lakekit."

"Oh no. My- oh no. How soon will it be? Do you have any ideas?"

"We have a little while. At least half a moon. Let's say after the next gathering, because Thrushpaw hasn't healed yet. But- oh no. Oh no. This prophecy has another line. One that will change everything."

"What?"

"I can't say yet. If I tell you- Well, it's really bad."

"Oh."

Wrenpaw shuddered, waking up. All of the medicine cats/apprentices from around the room also woke up. Some Clans bore looks of terror. WindClan was probably the most notable. Featherpaw, one of the two WindClan medicine cat apprentices, was literally shivering in a curled up ball.

Yet RiverClan looked completely nonchalant, and ThunderClan was looking very much relieved, as if they had heard good news about the Clans attacking each other.

Nobody felt in the mood to discuss anything, so they headed back home.

Wrenpaw walked up to Shiverpaw. She was also pretty scared, but even more, she was enthused, making theories on who would stay behind and who would walk a dark path. The only one they were sure about was that Lakekit wouldn't be easy to please. After all, she was the only one who was down there. Most likely. Or she could be dead and they were looking for someone else. So that theory crumpled immediately.

But for the meantime, all they could do was worry about what was going on.

As it did, time kept on passing, and tensions began to rise. About a quarter moon before the gathering, there was another attack.

Thrushpaw paced around the warm, cozy, yet dull medicine den. Emerald was out, presumably gathering some new herbs as leaf-spring began. It began to darken, and Thrushpaw yawned, ready to fall asleep to a good night's rest.

 _Crack. Crackle._

Someone lazily stepped on the crunchy, dead, late leaf-bare leaves, instantly revealing the location of some sort of cat, good or evil, but certainly up to something.

Sucking in a deep breath, sounding like a yawn, he began to go outside, and saw nothing. Suddenly, someone whispered, "Don't move a muscle or you will DIE."

Thrushpaw tried to stay still, but his tail moved randomly at a fast pace.

"STAY STILL!" another voice whispered, "WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PROPHECY!"  
He gulped and waited a second until he was pointed back into the den. A whole bunch of cats filed in, and it was definitely a strange crowd (Jaystorm, Redclaw, Shiverpaw, Snowpaw, himself, and even stranger, Pikepaw and Crowpaw, from whole different Clans.)

"Here we have assembled a whole bunch of young or soon to be warriors! Today's youth!" a creepy voice said.

"What do you want, and why these cats?" asked Shiverpaw boldly.

"What she said!" Snowpaw said in response.

"Well, a curious one! Or- two, well, it doesn't matter, at least one of you is curious."

Jaystorm rolled her eyes, which were barely visible (even for cats) in the near pitch black.

"Well, here's what I want. I want to know the prophecy, ok?" the creepy voice said. The silhouette came into view. He was a dark brown tabby with eyes of two different colors, although Thrushpaw couldn't make out which.

"What prophecy?" asked Redclaw timidly, "I had no idea there was a prophecy."

"Dolt," whispered his sister.

"Oh, it's about how several cats will-" Snowpaw began, not seeing the harm in telling his friends and their slightly scary friends.

"SH! SSHH!" shushed Shiverpaw.

"Why?"

"These cats are the ones who hurt me," Thrushpaw answered. Just mentioning it made his throat hurt, and also his legs from running so hard even though he couldn't.

"What? Everyone? Even Jaystorm and Redclaw?"

"Not Redclaw. But you, him, Thrushpaw and I are the only innocent ones!" Shiverpaw whispered scoldingly.

"Wait, what?" Redclaw asked, turning on his sister.

"Hey, we're all friends here!" Pikepaw mustered, hoping to delay the ensuing chaos, but to no avail.

"You aren't even in ShadowClan, Pikepaw! You're a RiverClan apprentice! You have no right to intervene!"

"HE KNOWS ABOUT FAMILIAR ISSUES, HE HAD TO PUT UP WITH THEM! HE EVEN HAD TO CHANGE HIS NAME FROM BURNKIT!" shouted Crowpaw.

"WHAT!?" cried Jaystorm, Shiverpaw, and Redclaw.

"Explain this, Crowpaw and Pikepaw," the unnamed cat said smoothly.

"Uh, uh…" stuttered Pikepaw, "That's not their concern."

"Yes it is. It may just perfectly explain our- organization…"

"Uh- uh, oh, in that case, uh, Crowpaw and I are brothers. Our parents had an inter Clan relationship. I used to be Burnkit of WindClan. When he grew older, I was sent to join dad in WindClan, and changed his name to something more like that. Story is in WindClan, I died. Story in RiverClan is that my dad found a nearly dead kit in the woods."

"And so we split at a young age. And it was painful, and it was awful." Crowpaw concluded.

"What does any of this have to do with whatever it is you cats are doing?" Redclaw brightly asked.

Jaystorm unexpectedly answered the question. "What we want is to combine all of the Clans. No more wars, or any of that. Just living happily off the land. And Gremlin here will lead us."

Gremlin. What an odd name. Gremlin smiled creepily, sending shivers down Thrushpaw's spine.

"Is Gremlin a Clan cat? He has a strange name- uh- what is a gremlin anyway?" Redclaw voiced the other's exact thoughts.

"Redclaw, I thought you would be the easiest to convince. Our mother died in a Clan skirmish. That never would have happened if we were all one Clan," Jaystorm said convincingly.

"No. I'm not strongly against it, I guess I respect what your doing, but Gremlin here doesn't seem like someone who should have power over the Clans. Also, remember that mom died honorably. She protected us from an invasion. If those enemies who struck her down joined us and our ranks protected them, what would that mean for us!?"

Suddenly, a booming cry from outside yelled, "INVASION!"

Immediately, panic sprung out. All of the cats who shouldn't have been there got ready to fight. Right now, it didn't matter who was on what side of this argument. This was a Clan battle.

Nobody raced into the cave, so Shiverpaw, Snowpaw, Redclaw and Jaystorm dashed out in panic. "What's going on?" cried Snowpaw.

"WindClan," said Oakfur, one of the senior warriors, and then he asked a question, "Why were you in the medicine den?"

"Visiting Thrushpaw!" Jaystorm said. It technically wasn't a lie, because they had came to talk to him.

"You young folk get weirder and weirder," he said, running off.

The four dashed into battle.

Thrushpaw waited inside the medicine den, urgently hoping nobody else strolled in. To his dismay, someone yelled, "Guard Thrushpaw!" and a warrior dashed in. Hollystep saw the WindClan and RiverClan apprentices and attacked them, and told them to get lost. They obliged, running away to their separate Clans.

But Gremlin was still in the room. Thrushpaw wasn't sure how to feel about Gremlin. He was saying the Clan way was flawed and he could help. He could be sane, but there was a chance he was an evil maniac trying to get power. Thrushpaw decided to block Hollystep from Gremlin, and then realised she would probably just send him off. As he walked away from Hollystep, he tripped, hurting him. "YEOOW!" he cried.

Hollystep jumped over, and Gremlin crept off behind her, grinning.

Thrushpaw's wound had started bleeding again. Hollystep called for Emerald, but apparently, she was gathering herbs, according to Leafwing.

Wrenpaw walked in, dumbfounded, at the moment. "What is going on?" she asked.

"HELP THRUSHPAW!" yelled Hollystep, worried. She was Beewing's sister and was suddenly pretending to care about him.

"Ok, ok."

Wrenpaw grabbed some cobwebs, but some cat had sat on them. It smelled of RiverClan for some reason. As she unstuck them from each other, she tried to comprehend what possibly happened.

She finally made the cobwebs work and slathered them on the open neck wound. As she looked into Thrushpaw's closed, teary eyes, she asked, "What in the world is going on?", but Thrushpaw didn't answer.

Outside, Jaystorm was defending the nursery with Oakfur. Ashenbrook, a WindClan warrior, clawed her back. She jumped backwards into him, a move she taught herself to surprise attackers. Sure enough, the warrior fell back, winded. He scurried off, but more were to come.

Robinstar came over, clawing another cat off Oakfur's back. "Thanks!" he muttered.

Jaystorm raced off in pursuit of the WindClan leader, running into the Elder's Den. _These cats are being ruthless! What have we done to them?_ She thought.

She jumped him, but he darted backwards, and she landed on the ground. She felt the leader stand on her back, and she knew she had fallen for his bait.

"Why are your warriors killing our kits?" hissed the leader.

Jaystorm, surprised, turned her heads and said, "WE AREN'T!"

"Say that to the mothers who lost their kits in a nursery that smelled shockingly like SHADOWCLAN! We have to keep them in the warriors den to make them feel safe!"

"Well, most of us didn't kill your kits! No need to blame her!" yelled Reclaw, barging in from nowhere.

"YEAH!" Mousepelt yelled.

The two attacked the leader, who frowned down on them.

"Go play fight somewhere else, little kits!" the leader said bitterly, thrusting Redclaw off the tree. His sisters stared in horror.

Jaystorm climbed down toward him, with a general concern in her eyes. Gone was the sarcastic, bitter, loathing Jaystorm.

She nudged him, and he gasped. "I'm okay!" he said, obviously not okay.

Mousepelt walked up from behind, and said panickedly, "Get to the medicine den!"

Redclaw closed his eyes.

"NO!" the sisters cried.

"I'm okay," he said again.

And then, Redclaw was dead.

Jaystorm desperately shook her brother, trying to wake him. WindClan paused for a moment and watched as the grieving sisters stood in shock.

Mousepelt looked up and raced over to the WindClan leader (even he was shocked) and whacked him in the face.

"HEY! I deserved that actually," he said.

"GO!" she said.

WindClan left without any more words.

"So he'll be ok?" Shiverpaw asked worriedly.

"Yes, he will," Emerald said, "Wrenpaw did the right thing. Finally."

Wrenpaw puffed her chest in pride. Thrushpaw would still be in the Medicine Den for longer than was planned, but hopefully, he would still be out soon. Shiverpaw sat by him for a second then went outside to figure out what just happened. She was pretty sure Jaystorm was once again behind this.

She quickly filled Wrenpaw in on what happened right before the battle. The two went outside and found Snowpaw talking to Jaystorm.

"Go away, Snowpaw," she said.

Snowpaw told a bad joke, something he hadn't done since he was a kit. Jaystorm rolled her eyes, then immediately sat up as soon as the other apprentices appeared.

"Jaystorm. Were you intruding in WindClan territory?"

"No!"

"Well, who else would that?"

"Are you implying I'm trying to get the Clans to FIGHT!? That's what I DON'T want to happen!" Jaystorm meowed in annoyance.

"Then why were you talking about it at the gathering?" asked Wrenpaw.

"It was a flaw in our plans. We didn't mean to do that!"

The apprentices eyed each other.

"I bet you killed the kits-" said Shiverpaw.

"I MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH YOUR MOTIVES, BUT I'M NOT EVIL!" Jaystorm yelled in frustration. She darted off into the woods without another word.

"W- why would you say that to her?!" Mousepelt asked from behind them.

"Uh…" Shiverpaw trailed off.

 _How could I be so MEAN!?_ Shiverpaw thought. She banged her head into the moss of her nest in the Apprentice's Den.

"Hey, Shiverpaw?" asked Snowpaw.

She banged her head into the moss again in acknowledgment.

"That was stupid and all-"

Shiverpaw banged her head in agreement.

"-but she's been mean to you soooo many times-"

Shiverpaw banged her head again, because it didn't matter.

"-so you shouldn't let it get into you head-"

Yeah, but Jaystorm just lost her BROTHER. This deserved another head bang.

"-and I can tell I'm not helping."

Shiverpaw banged slightly harder, because he hit it spot on.

"So I'm going to get to the point. Robinstar wants you."

Shiverpaw banged her head again, then realised what he said. "Why didn't you tell me instead of wasting a minute?" she asked scoldingly.

"You may not have come if you were upset."

She rolled her eyes and they walked over to the leader's den.

"The Quest for the Alpine Destiny cannot wait much longer. Emerald says she has learned that in just half a moon, it will begin. The prophecy says only three will go. Shiverpaw, Thrushpaw, and Snowpaw will be the ones to go on this quest," the leader announced.

"What-but-" started Wrenpaw.

"You're needed here."

"I don't want to go!" cried Snowpaw, "I want to stay here and become a warrior!"

"Prophecy rules! I'm sorry! It should be an honor to go on this quest!"

"Yeah, fine, ok." he said sulkily.

Thrushpaw and Shiverpaw looked at each other with grins. They were going to save their sister!

Ugh. There was a meeting tonight. Jaystorm didn't feel up to anything, but she knew she needed to go. She was vital to the operation.

She stood up and asked Emerald if she could go gather herbs. Emerald absentmindedly agreed, so she trotted off into the woods.

Covering her scent wasn't a worry today; the meeting would be in ShadowClan territory. Her brain jolted awake as she realised she needed to bring the apprentices of the quest along for this. _Forget them, after all, they're just lazy jerks._

" _Jaystorm, where are the apprentices?"_ whispered Pikepaw, sneaking up from behind her.

" _Not coming,_ " she whispered back.

The two raced into the meeting place, a clearing surrounded by dense pines. They were the first ones there, and panting, Jaystorm began to climb one of the trees. Soon came the others, mostly on the ground (Sorrelstone also took a spot inside of the tree.)

"Okay, cats. First order of business: Sorrelstone, ever since you became a warrior, you have showed up to none of our meetings. It seems as if you have become uncaring, so you are kicked out. You may still help us in the future but do not come to our meetings," Gremlin said.

Sorrelstone's mouth went agape, but then she asked, "Who will be the new ThunderClan recruit?"

"Meet Larkwing. She's older than all of you and her entire family was killed by foxes. ThunderClan was too weak to drive out the foxes, and she wishes in the future everyone could be protected."

"Hello." Larkwing said.

"Hi!" everyone greeted, except for Sorrelstone.

"That's our deputy!" she said.

"Oh my goodness!" Pikepaw said.

"Our cause just got a whole lot more real," Gremlin said with a happy grin.


	4. The First Clan Falls

"Well, it's time to go," Thrushpaw said happily. It was amazing how much he'd healed over the past half moon. But it probably wouldn't be enough to express how much Wrenpaw would miss her friends.

Snowpaw and Wrenpaw had come to the agreement over the past half moon that life wasn't really set out for them. They both desperately wished to trade places, but Shiverpaw wasn't very good at hunting or fighting, and Thrushpaw had missed over a moon of training for various reasons. Having someone to defend them who also met the prophecy goals would be more useful than someone to heal them, and they'd been trained with some medical knowledge.

"BYE!" Shiverpaw said.

"I'll see you again some time. Hopefully."

"To be honest, do we even know if we'll ever come back? The prophecy never mentions our success. Ever."

"Don't even tell me about it." Snowpaw said in misery.

"UGH!" said Thrushpaw. "You finally start to care, but only about yourself."

"Don't make me feel guilty!" Snowpaw growled.

"Guys, don't fight!" Shiverpaw and Wrenpaw both said.

"Let's just go. We don't need to talk any more."

"Bye everyone!" they all said.

Wrenpaw and Snowpaw went their separate ways in sadness.

TWO MOONS LATER….

"Cheer up, Wrenpaw!" said Owlpaw.

"You've been sulking for two moons, you NEED TO STOP!" Emerald said commandingly.

Wrenpaw whimpered. Ever since a week after her friends left, she'd been sitting there on the floor of the apprentice den, except to get food and water.

Even when two younger apprentices got their names, she never exited the apprentice den.

She had no idea what was happening in the world around her. For all she knew, Gremlin had taken over control of the other three Clans.

"This is not helping anything. Wrenpaw, you know, being a medicine cat means making a difference even when times are tough. And I think you're about ready for your name."

"Really?" asked Wrenpaw.

"You have the spirit of a medicine cat, and I know that if you really devote yourself, you'll master herbs."

"Really? I've forgotten. Them all."

"Ok, well, we'll do something. Uh- but I bet the herbs will come back to you faster than you would believe."

"Yeah! I'll make them!" Wrenpaw said determinedly.

 _Okay, let's remember the procedure. So, the poultice goes on the thorn cut-_

"OW!" cried Oakfur.

 _-sounds about right. Now stick on the cobwebs, tell him not to open the wound again or take it easy for the day or something, and send him on his way._

"Ok, you're ready to go. Don't hurt yourself more!"

"Thank you!" the warrior called.

"Good job!" Emerald said from behind Wrenpaw, "You are remembering it fast!"

Wrenpaw agreed. It had been just three days since her life had gotten back on track and already she was treating basic wounds. She'd sorted all of the herbs and was studying what they did. But she still needed to know how to deal with bigger cases, and also where to gather the different herbs. Today Emerald would take her apprentice to gather herbs.

At sunset they set out to go find the catmint. Newleaf had begun and new crops would hopefully be springing up in the territory's edge, because many Shadowclan cats still had Greencough.

They headed out. Catmint didn't tend to grow in most of the pine infested areas, but it did happen to grow near a beautiful yet treacherous sunny pond inside of ShadowClan territory.

They grabbed as much catmint as there paws could carry. It was abundant here, and with good reason: the soil was good and there was plenty of fresh water.

They exited quickly, and rushed back to treat the greencough infected cats.

In addition to doing nothing over the past two moons, Wrenpaw had worried a lot. Mainly about Jaystorm and Gremlin and such.

Almost every night she heard Jaystorm sneak out of the warrior dens and go into the forest. It seemed things were getting awfully intense. In addition, for some reason it seemed Owlpaw kept making excuses to get out of work and go hunting instead.

Wrenpaw decided to follow Jaystorm one night. It was a foggy, windy night, and it was hard to hear or see Jaystorm, but she was pretty sure this was the best she could do, and Jaystorm's scent was blowing in her direction so she could track her down.

"Ugh. What a miserable night for this," Pikefur said out of nowhere.

"The cause is important, Pikefur, and we have to figure out how to kill the ThunderClan leader without being noticed. Then we'll be perfectly fine, and stronger than ever."

"Yeah, you're right. I wish we could do this more peacefully. Greenstar has siblings, and we both know what it's like to lose a sibling. Also he's their leader. The Clan would be distraught."

"At least you still get to see your brother every other day! MINE IS DEAD!"

"Woah, sorry there, I wasn't being hostile!"

Jaystorm turned away, an expression on her face reminding her of when they were kits and Jaykit, almost an apprentice, would be so upset whenever her newly slain mother was mentioned. It was hard to believe how long ago that had been.

They came across fourtrees, unexpectedly, where it turned out they were meeting. Wrenpaw supposed that was wise, and moved along. She watched the gathering take place, kind of intrigued. Why were they talking every other day? That was quite often.

They talked about how they'd been for a while and then they started to do something more interesting: discuss battle plans.

RiverClan would attack ThunderClan during midday. Seeing as ThunderClan's leader, Ravenstar, was currently ill with a case of greencough, the deputy would "defend" the leader's den, but then the attacking RiverClan cats would get in and… Larkwing would become the new leader.

Wrenpaw was amazed how violent cats trying to make peace could get. She snuck away, going to the ThunderClan border. It was the middle of the night, and nobody came, but she waited patiently, even after she was getting hungry.

Finally, a small dawn patrol came. Wrenpaw told them her warning. It (shockingly) made the ThunderClan cats basically do a small chuckling laugh. "Kit, we would have been _told_ that the leader was going to die. If StarClan told you, they would have told us. And they didn't. I bet you're trying to throw us off our guard for a soon to come attack."

"AM NOT!" she cried, outraged by the patrol's disbelief.

"WELL THEN HAVE THE MEDICINE CAT COME OVER AND PROVE IT!"

"I- I am a medicine cat! Apprentice."

"I haven't seen you around."

Wrenpaw cursed herself for staying inside her den so long.

She wandered off before she would get killed or something, very much scared for the future of the Clans. If they lost ThunderClan, then who knew what could happen next?

She was so hopeless. AGAIN. Why could she never get motivated when times were tough.

She walked toward her den, chiding herself not to but still walking. Finally, Foxpaw, sensing Wrenpaw's emotions (as if by magic) said, "You are not pulling one of these again."

"I won't," she said with a sigh. She looked up at the sky. "Foxpaw, something really bad is happening soon. But I'm not sure how soon you'll be able to tell it's happening," she said, not really sure how to word it.

"I- I get that. Kind of. And even if I didn't I would still believe it."

"Thank you," said Wrenpaw, collapsing in the den. Oh, how tired she was- she was up all night and-

"That's not good!" Robinstar said, not really caring.

"We just came to spread the news, that's all," said Larkwing.

"Have a good eight- er nine lives ceremony."

Larkwing shook her head in disgust at the careless leader.

She nodded subtly toward Jaystorm and then left.

Wrenpaw hazily aroused from a deep sleep. What time was it? She wondered, blinking open her eyes. The cold nighttime air surrounded her and she wriggled back into her nest, but she couldn't sleep.

She sighed, not wanting to throw off her sleep cycle, but got up anyway. It was a crisp, cold night.

Then, right as she exited the door of the apprentice den and saw Silverpelt, as beautiful as ever, a idea struck like a lightning bolt on an tall tree, and she knew what she could do.

In the waking hours of a new day, Jaystorm roused from her nest, near the senior warriors, but not quite there. She hazily remembered their victory yesterday. She would have to refer to Larkwing as Larkstar from now on.

Wandering out of the den, she saw that the fresh kill pile was full of prey. Everyone had been hard at work during the new-leaf.

Oddly though, it appeared none of the apprentices were doing their usual duties. She'd figure out what was wrong.

"OWLPAW! FOXPAW! WRENPAW!?" she cried into their den.

Nothing. She'd expect at least a response!

So she decided to go looking. She quickly notified the deputy, Thornwood, and departed to go find them.

Owlpaw groaned. "Wrenpaw, did we really need to go on an adventure TODAY? I'm sooooo hungry!"

"Then let's go hunting," she replied absentmindedly.

"Ok," he said, not entirely satisfied.

They grabbed a couple skinny squirrels, who were coming out for the start of spring and were too hungry to get away fast enough. Then, they continued going.

The apprentices complained the entire time, but Wrenpaw had two things she was determined to do, and she needed Owlpaw and Foxpaw for the second one.

Finally, as it was starting to get dark, they reached the moonstone's cave.

"Woah…." said Foxpaw immediately.

"Woah indeed." It was Wrenpaw's third time there, but it struck as much awe into her heart as it did when she first saw it.

They went into the cave, which stopped the other apprentices from complaining. They hadn't thought that they'd see the moonstone for a long time, but there it was, right in front of them.

"Touch your nose to the stone and close your eyes," instructed Wrenpaw, curious if it would work for them. She wasn't exactly the most confident about the functionings of the moonstone.

Owlpaw did so, and he was immediately out. His tail twitched a little and it appeared he was having an intense dream.

Foxpaw went a little bit less casually, a little bit of fear in her eye. When she fell asleep it was impossible to tell her emotions, which was probably a good thing.

Wrenpaw went last, unsure what she would hear from StarClan.

"YOUNG APPRENTICE, YOU ARE DISOBEYING CLAN RULES BY COMING HERE WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE!" a StarClan cat yelled.

"I'm just trying to save the Clans!" Wrenpaw said, as nobly as possible.

"If you were trying to help the Clans you would be treating their illnesses and such."

She rolled her eyes. "Ok, I may not be helping my Clan - according to you - but can we talk about what I AM doing?"

The StarClan cat rolled her eyes. "Fine. It's true that the Clans might be stopped. But it's really unlikely, so you don't have to worry."

"We've already lost ThunderClan!"

"We have?" asked the cat, worried now.

"Yes. Larkstar is inside of the group who wants to end the Clans. And she can basically do whatever she wants with ThunderClan now."

"How didn't we see this….?"

"I don't know. Maybe you were too oblivious they might possess a threat to pay ANY ATTENTION!"

The cat backed off. "We don't need to fight."

"Seemed like you were pretty keen to fight earlier, what's changed now?" I asked bitterly.

"Stop it, Wrenpaw. Don't let these rebellious thoughts stick with you. It could cause trouble in the future."

The StarClan cat vanished.

Wrenpaw jolted awake. Foxpaw and Owlpaw looked at her worriedly.

She just said, "Nightmare."

Foxpaw and Owlpaw looked at her doubtfully but decided not to investigate further.

They came back to the border, and it ws now the next night. Owlpaw said he needed to sleep and wouldn't come to the second part of their adventure. Wrenpaw just rolled her eyes, and said "fine."

Foxpaw and Wrenpaw went over to fourtrees, ready to spy on Gremlin and his cats. Foxpaw was curious and noisy, but it wasn't time yet.

 _Crack._ Somebody stepped onto a branch. Wrenpaw shushed Foxpaw and they began to watch.

Larkstar showed up first. Amazingly enough she had nobody next to her. Foxpaw tried to ask Wrenpaw what was going on, but Wrenpaw quieted her again.

All of the cats filed in, and Foxpaw watched intently.

"Good work, Larkstar!" said Gremlin, that smug little grin on his face.

"Yes. Now we're just waiting for the other Clans," she said slowly.

"I have a plan for ShadowClan," Jaystorm said quickly.

Wrenpaw gasped, finding it hard to keep silent. Foxpaw didn't gasp, rather she looked intently, still confused.

"Go on," said Gremlin.

"Well," she began, and then saw Wrenpaw and Foxpaw in the bush, and she whispered the rest.

Gremlin smiled evilly at the apprentices and said, "advance."

"RUN!" cried Wrenpaw.

"Already on it!" said Foxpaw, who was five tail-lengths aheadd of her.

They darted away, all the way back into the ThunderClan camp, before they realised they had never even been chased.

"Wrenpaw, what's going on?" asked Foxpaw.

"It's a loooong story…."

After telling, the two apprentices went to sleep. They were unsettled and restless, but at least, they figured, nothing bad could happen before tomorrow's gathering.

But they had made one crucial mistake, one that only was brought about by their combined stupidity.

The gathering was tense and quiet. Nobody talked to each other as all of the cats filed in. Everyone was confused why there were fresh scents from all of the Clans there, even though ThunderClan hadn't gotten there yet.

"What's going on?" whispered Foxpaw.

"The rogues are definitely working magic on these cats. They all hate each other now."

"Yikes."

"Yikes indeed."

The leaders got onto their perches and chaos began.

Larkstar began. She forgot any introduction and went straight to accusations. "RiverClan, why were you attacking us? And why would you kill our leader, how did you know he had one life!?"

"StarClan gave us a sign that said that your leader would cause harm to our people."

Eerie. That might just be true in the very near future. It made Wrenpaw wonder if the sign was coincidental and not actually caused by the Rogues.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO KILL A LEADER!"

"SHADOWCLAN IS STILL KILLING OUR KITS!" the WindClan leader yelled out of nowhere.

"No we are not," said Robinstar, who was amazingly still calm.

"WELL THEN WHY DO I SMELL SHADOWCLAN EVERY TIME A KIT OR ELDER DIES! WE'VE HAD FOUR KITS DIE IN THE LAST MOON!"

"Again, it was not us."

"YOU!"

The clouds covered the moon. Emerald cried, "STOP!"  
Larkstar leaped onto the RiverClan leader. "YOU WILL PAY!"

This was planned. Wrenpaw heard her heart beat as she realised that she was about to lose RiverClan.

Larkstar did an attack on the RiverClan leader, and instantly, chaos went loose.

"STOP! YOU HAVE NO REASON TO DO THIS!" Emerald cried.

"Yes she does!" Pikefur said, running into Emerald.

Another warrior barged into Pikefur. "YOU DARE ATTACK A MEDICINE CAT!?"

Foxpaw cried in fury. "NO! STOP FIGHTING!"

"LISTEN TO HER!" cried many other voices.

Larkstar's attack went into form and the RiverClan leader lost a life.

"YOU WILL PAY!"  
Owlpaw cried, "What's going on!"

Wrenpaw responded, "I don't know!" Everything was a blur of motion, scary and untrustworthy.

Suddenly, Gremlin jumped onto her. "This is for being so annoying…"


	5. The Wolf

There was a darkness around their camp that would usually alarm the three, but due to how sleepy they were, it was not in the slightest bothersome. Shiverpaw had probably just had the roughest day of her life, considering how she had fallen into a freezing cold river, STILL not had medical treatment for her nagging case of greencough, and the fact that she had a face off with a fox all on her own while Thrushpaw and Snowpaw were trying to find water warm enough to drink. They had gotten into the alpines, but to what expense? Shiverpaw was almost dead. Snowpaw was horribly depressed and Thrushpaw, the leader, couldn't even find a way to keep up the morale in the slightest. In fact many nights he himself would watch the moon and wish that he could speak to his friends like they were real friends. It seemed as if everyone hated each other there.

The journey had not fared them well, and they doubted they would ever be able to return. Food was scarce. The water was too cold. Hope was gone.

Thrushpaw sighed. And suddenly he saw something.

Another cat.

Thruspaw tried to run over, but his hunger was stiffening his muscles.

"MOM!" cried Thrushpaw.

"Huh?" asked a dazed Snowpaw.

Sure enough, there lay Beewing, looking dehydrated and tired.

"It's really her!"

"Okay good. We can go home now."

"She needs water!" Thrushpaw said, ignoring Snowpaw.

"Um, water. Right. When was the last time we saw that? A year ago?"

"Snowpaw, help. Don't snark, help."

"Whatever."

* * *

They managed to find a tree which was dripping water that was fairly warm, due to being in the sun's direct light. Not only did they use this to help Beewing, but themselves too.

Morale was up. Thrushpaw joyously went to sleep, curled up with him mother. _I've missed you. Glad to see you again._

* * *

 _"Wake up!"_

The shrill whisper came from her mother. Shiverpaw had to be dreaming.

"What's-what's going on?"

"Please be okay..."

Shiverpaw was sick. Very, very sick. Sick with Greencough. And also generally being cold, because, well, they were at a very high altitude.

Beewing whispered something to Snowpaw and Thrushpaw.

And quickly, Shiverpaw was out of consciousness.

* * *

"They're here."

Thrushpaw bolted up to see a badger.

"Mom, what in the name of StarClan!? Are you bee-brained!? It'll kill us. It's a badger."

"I am not killer. I am called Midnight." The Badger said, much to Thrushpaw's surprise.

"You can talk?"

"I do many things."

Beewing tried to explain. "She was summoned here by StarClan. Her home is by the beach, but she came here to help."

"With what?"

"The same thing I came here. A new prophecy."

Snowpaw chimed in. "The one about the alpines?"

"Nah, I don't know what you're talking about.

Snowpaw frowned in sheer bafflement.

Midnight stepped forward. "I have no knowledge on alpine destiny."

"Wait, seriously!?" the younger cats were quite befuddled.

"Maybe StarClan told you that to get you to come here, because they couldn't explain it themself- you know, being all cryptic and stuff?" Beewing suggested. "I mean, we aren't even IN an alpine forest."

"Oh."

Thrushpaw paused for a moment, and then lunged at the wall. He had just spent the past few moons of his life chasing after something that wasn't even real. _Why StarClan, why!?_

"Why are we here anyways?" asked Snowpaw, who was surprisingly acting inquisitive.

 _He thinks I'm being too emotional to sort this out!_ Thrushpaw angrily thought.

"I don't know." Beewing said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. StarClan told me to come here urgently, and to bring Lakekit. I wanted to bring all of you, but I only got Shiverkit because the Snowkit and Wrenkit were waking up, and they weren't allowed to come under any circumstance."

Snowpaw sighed. "Of course I was the one who messed that up. Althought probably for the best, now that I think about it. Hey Midnight, do you know anything else about this?"

"We are looking for a wolf."

Thrushpaw sat up quickly.

* * *

"Will she be okay?"

"Maybe. Only stars can tell." said a badger looming over Shiverpaw.

She tried to talk, but her mouth was too dry, like the highest peak of a mountain above all the rainclouds.

 _Help me. I'm dying..._

* * *

"We're looking for a wolf."

"Yep, Midnight said it pretty loud and clear."

"What's a wolf? I have a suspicion..."

"It's like this dog thing. It's gray or white. It's really big and powerful."

"Oh my. So that's what that was."

"That's what what was?"

"The creature from my dream that told me to come here."

Midnight turned to him. "Another disciple."

"What..."

"Like me. Like me." Midnight seemed to be having some sort of emotional withdrawal, as if she had just grabbed some new information she could not deal with.

"I think she means that this wolf is another animal blessed with the knowledge of StarClan. If she talked to you in your dream, that must be."

"But... why? What's the likelyhood that any Warriors would ever come see it."

"We're here right now."

* * *

A snow rabbit hid in the snow, watching the landscape carefully. It did not move. It was serene and wondrous.

It sniffed. Something was near.

It scurried away, but it felt the presence coming closer.

And the rabbit knew true fear.


End file.
